In anticipation of achieving statehood, Alabama's first state legislature assembles at Huntsville, the temporary capital. The General Assembly, as it was called, was composed of nineteen senators and forty-seven representatives from Alabama's nineteen counties. Thomas Bibb of Limestone County was elected President of the Senate, while James Dellet of Monroe County was elected Speaker of the House.

Groundbreaking ceremonies are held in Huntsville for the U.S. Army's Redstone Ordnance Plant. Renamed Redstone Arsenal in 1943, the installation produced conventional artillery ordnance during World War II, but in 1949 became the Army's missile and rocket development center. Led by German scientist Wernher von Braun, Redstone developed the rocket system that propelled the first U.S. satellite into space.

The Alabama legislature elects William Rufus King and John W. Walker as Alabama's first United States senators. King served several terms in the Senate and in 1852 was elected U.S. Vice President. Walker, who had been president of the Alabama constitutional convention of 1819, served in the Senate until 1822, when he resigned. The terms of both senators officially began December 14, 1819, the day Alabama became the 22nd state.

In a run-off, Richard Arrington is elected as the first black mayor of Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city. Arrington served in that post for nearly twenty years, until his resignation in July 1999.